Wednesday 23 September 2026
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Local Public Representative for Cork North West Region

Email : johnpaul.oshea@oireachtas.ie

O’Shea Calls for Clear Timelines on Blackwater Fish Kill Recommendations

Sep 23, 2026

O’Shea Calls for Clear Timelines on Blackwater Fish Kill Recommendations

Cork North West Fine Gael TD John Paul O’Shea has called on Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), as the lead State agency, to urgently make progress on implementing the recommendations arising from the independent European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) review into last year’s devastating Blackwater fish kill and to publish a clear timeframe for delivery.

 

The JRC review, published in February 2026, made a wide range of recommendations aimed at improving the prevention, detection and investigation of major fish kill incidents. These include enhanced continuous water quality monitoring on major rivers, stronger inter-agency coordination, improved public communication, increased citizen science initiatives and measures to prevent future environmental disasters.

 

Deputy O’Shea said “The Blackwater fish kill was an environmental catastrophe which had a profound impact on local communities, anglers, tourism businesses and everyone who values this iconic river. While I welcome the publication of the JRC report and the work underway to develop an inter-agency protocol, communities along the Blackwater need to see tangible progress.”

 

“Inland Fisheries Ireland has been identified as the lead agency for several of the key recommendations, including developing procedures for classifying major fish kills and establishing clear multi-agency operating procedures. It is therefore essential that IFI now sets out a specific implementation timetable for these recommendations.”

 

Deputy O’Shea said that while some recommendations may require significant investment and long-term planning, there must be greater transparency around progress.

“The Minister has indicated that many recommendations are being progressed and that an inter-agency protocol will be finalised very soon. However, there remains a lack of clarity regarding when individual recommendations will be delivered, who is responsible for each action and what progress has been made to date.”

 

“Local communities and all those with an interest in the future of the River Blackwater deserve regular updates and clear timelines. We cannot allow these recommendations to remain on paper. Lessons must be learned and acted upon so that we do everything possible to prevent a similar incident occurring again.”

 

Deputy O’Shea also stressed the importance of implementing the report’s recommendations on continuous river monitoring, enhanced investigative procedures and increased public engagement through citizen science initiatives.

“Prevention must be our primary objective. The Blackwater is one of Ireland’s most important natural assets and we must ensure that the necessary resources, monitoring systems and inter-agency structures are put in place without delay.”

 

 

Deputy O’Shea received the below as a reply to Parliamentary Questions he raised on this matter.

 

For Written Answer
Question Number(s): 112,113 Question Reference(s): 46942/26, 46943/26
Department: Climate, Energy and the Environment
Asked by: John Paul O’Shea T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION

* To ask the Minister for Climate; Energy and the Environment the specific recommendations contained in the Joint Research Centre review of the Blackwater fish kill incident; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

– John Paul O’Shea T.D.

* To ask the Minister for Climate; Energy and the Environment the timeline for implementation of each recommendation contained in the Joint Research Centre review, the agency responsible for delivery; the current status of each recommendation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

– John Paul O’Shea T.D.

 

REPLY

Following the Blackwater fish kill incident last year, an independent review was carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The JRC Report, published in February 2026, made a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening prevention, detection and investigation of fish kills which are set out in the table below.

Many of these recommendations are being progressed through the development of an Inter-Agency Protocol between relevant agencies. This protocol, which will be finalised very soon, will ensure that the relevant expertise, resources and information are brought together quickly and will ensure consistency in how incidents are handled and communicated in the future.

The JRC report also includes some longer-term recommendations, such as continuous monitoring infrastructure, which requires careful planning, design and investment. Further consideration on how best to progress these is underway by the relevant authorities.

Objective

Recommendations

To Improve Detection

  • Major rivers (>100 km length) should have basic continuous monitoring with current and historical results available online. This should be provided together with ‘travel time’ catchment maps for different flow scenarios.

  • Chemical samples should be taken immediately when a fish kill is identified. This should be followed by frequent catchment-wide ambient water samples for complete background and pollutant specific chemistry for major fish kills. Local authorities should follow clear protocols to achieve this.

  • Given that the pollutant or its source has not been identified, vigilance should be maintained. Monitoring should be intensified in the river and its tributaries by IFI and CCC.

  • The public were first to raise the alarm. It is recommended to increase citizen scientist initiatives in the catchment led by LAWPRO and IFI.

To improve the coordinated response

  • Designate one agency to be responsible for leading and directing the response.

  • Major fish kills need to be recognised as such and treated with a higher level of priority. IFI should lead work to develop procedures to quickly classify and quantify fish kill extent.

  • IFI should lead work to develop and agree a clear multi-agency operating procedure to deal with major fish kills. This should guide all agencies to urgently explore all possible avenues until a cause is clearly determined. As part of this, the EPA and IFI should review investigative monitoring protocols for local authorities.

  • All agencies should establish clear reaction time goals for i) cross-agency information sharing, ii) diagnosis & remediation, iii) ensure sufficient capacity to meet emergency needs.

  • Investment should be made in crisis management and crisis communication skills.

  • Reports should clearly document all suspected causes, subsequent investigations and outcome. The logical steps of an investigation must be transparent to the public.

To prevent fish kills

  • Manage the catchment in an integrated way to allow a greater resilience of the biota to pollution events under scenarios that include high summer temperatures and low flows.

  • The EPA and IFI should commission and guide research to predict high risk locations for fish kills. Direct resources towards prevention. Anticipating and preparing for events will improve the response.

  • Carry out a thorough economic evaluation otherwise the resource will remain undervalued.

  • The deterrent to pollution under the Environmental Liability Directive and the Industrial Emissions Directive (including recent revisions) should be highlighted. However, without the identification of the pollutant and source, prosecutions and costs for remediation measures (under the Environmental Liability Directive) cannot be pursued.

  • Prevention of future incidents is paramount. Increased efforts by national authorities are required to adequately implement relevant existing Community legislation such as the Water Framework Directive, the Nitrates Directive, the Industrial Emissions Directive, the Urban Wastewater Directive as well as the Habitats Directive. Further efforts should be made to achieve the environmental objectives set by these directives within the catchment. In addition, the Environmental Liability Directive should be fully implemented to provide a strong incentive to avoid polluting the environment.